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Sept 3, 1997 Minutes


Present: Bible, Bourgeois, Conroy, Deduck-Evans, Hays, Hunter, Irvin,
McGee, Oliver, Pascoe, Sawey, Stimmel and Winek.

Absent: Bechtol and Simpson

Guests: Oren Renick (Health Admin), Kim Folse (Sociol), Pat Cassidy
(VPAA) and Mike Moore.

CONTENTS:

SENATE SECRETARY
INSURANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
FACULTY RESEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE TO GUIDELINES
ACADEMIC POLICY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS AND CHARGE
NEW BUSINESS
SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATOR HUNTER
PPS 7.10 MERIT AND PROMOTION
MITTE ENDOWED CHAIRS
1996 CUPA FACULTY SALARY SPECIAL STUDY REPORT
UNIVERSITY ARTS COMMITTEE
HANDBOOK COVER
ORSP REORGANIZATION OF RESEARCH FILES
LATE DROP DATE AND ADDS/DROPS
NEW FACULTY LUNCHEON
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF FACULTY
MINUTES OF 8-27-97

The meeting was called to order by Chair Bible at 4:02 pm

SENATE SECRETARY

After being RTA'd for several meetings the issue of the Senate secretary
was discussed. Because there were no volunteers to take the minutes, it
was agreed that the senators would take turns recording them.

INSURANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

Dr. Oren Renick, Chair of the Insurance Committee, reported on the 1996
Patient Satisfaction Survey. Its purpose was to provide SWT employees
with information needed to make an informed decision about their health
care options at enrollment time. A summary of the survey results was
included in the benefits enrollment package sent to SWT employees this
summer. The results were also released to insurers and hospitals to
assist them with their continuous improvement initiatives.

Dr. Renick explained that his committee plans to continue their work on
insurance issues by distributing another survey which would concentrate
on quality of care. They will also address the issues of evaluating the
value and quality of health care services. Senator McGee noted that a
ranking of physicians would be helpful in the selection/enrollment
process. Dr. Renick explained that this would probably not be done but
that results would likely be communicated to appropriate points in the
peer review process - to the physician, hospital or managed care
organization.

Dr. Renick has been asked to discuss his committee's work and findings
at a national conference. He also stated that there were possibilities
for grant funding to look at health care options. Several other Texas
universities have inquired about the survey results.

The Senate accepted the Insurance Committee report and thanked Dr.
Renick and his committee for their diligence and dedicated work.

FACULTY RESEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE TO GUIDELINES

Dr. Kim Folse, Chair of the Research Committee, explained the minor
changes to the new Research Enhancement Grant guidelines which were
essentially changed at a spring meeting of the Senate. The changes will
make the language clearer in respect to stipends, number of pages
allowed, time periods counted, and mandatory reports.

It was noted that seeking external funding is not required by the law
which created the Research Enhancement Grants program but is strongly
encouraged by ORSP. The committee affirmed that the quality of the
proposed research is the important issue. It was noted that the new
guidelines will consider efforts of faculty to seek outside funding as
an element of the review process. Faculty are referred to the REP
Guidelines Section III.B.

Senator McGee asked the Senate if they would regard, as a conflict of
interest, his troubleshooting Liberal Arts proposals before they go to
the LA Research Advisory Committee. The Senate agreed that it would not
be a conflict of interest but should be regarded as a positive effort to
encourage mentoring and that all departments have a right to set up
mentoring activities.

The Senate approved the new guidelines with the amended clarifications
and thanked Dr. Folse and her committee for their efforts.

ACADEMIC POLICY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

The charge for the new Academic Policy Oversight Committee will be as
follows:

Monitors the extent to which chairs, deans, and other administrators are
adhering to applicable PPS's and other rules in conducting university
business and brings concerns to the attention of the Faculty Senate.
The Senate shall determine which issues shall be referred to the
committee for its investigation.

The composition of this committee was discussed and appointments are
pending. The Senate decided that members would serve a 2 year term
since the committee is newly formed. RTA'd until next week.

NEW BUSINESS

REPLACEMENT FOR SENATOR HUNTER

A replacement is needed for Diana Hunter who will soon be taking a
maternity leave for the reminder of the fall semester. RTA'd until next
week.

PPS 7.10 MERIT AND PROMOTION

The administration has proposed certain amendments to PPS 7.10 on merit
and performance raises for faculty (see minutes of 8/27). Last week,
the Senate drafted a memo outlining its objections to some of these pro-
posed changes, and Dr. Bible discussed this at CAD on Tuesday and then
informed the Senate about that discussion.

Currently, PPS 7.10 provides that when money is available for merit and
performance raises, approximately 25% should be allocated to merit and
75% to performance; it also provides that merit awards should be limited
to three to five steps, and that merit raises should be given only if a
performance raise would correlate in a specific way with the annual
inflation rate. The proposed amendments would eliminate the 75/25 ratio
and the three-to-five step limitation and instead regard the amounts to
be awarded in perforance and merit as purely a matter of presidential
prerogative. The Senate objects. It recognizes that these issues are
indeed a matter of presidential prerogative, but believes that the 75/25
ratio and three-to-five limitation are sound from a policy standpoint,
reflect the best accommodation of the competing interests involved, and
should be adhered to by the president in making his determinations.

This issue will appear on the agenda of the September 17 PAAG meeting
with Drs. Supple and Gratz and may also appear on the agenda of the
joint Senate/CAD meeting on Tuesday, October 7.

MITTE ENDOWED CHAIRS

Chair Bible discussed the proposed funding (salaries) for the new Mitte
Endowed chairs. He noted that funding the chairs will not be "free,"
but instead will involve the dedication of vacant faculty line items and
up to $250,000 in Strategic Planning funds. This issue will also be
placed on the PAAG agenda, along with the proposed procedures for hiring
of these 5 endowed chairs. Copies of the proposed funding will be sent
to the senators for study.

1996 CUPA FACULTY SALARY SPECIAL REPORT

Chair Bible has received a copy of the 1996 CUPA Faculty Salary Special
Study Report. The report is available at the Faculty Senate Office.
Interested faculty should refer to this publication for more details.

UNIVERSITY ARTS COMMITTEE

The Senate has decided to not replace a member of the library staff who
has left SWT and who had served on the University Arts Committee. That
person has asked to be appointed the the University Arts Committee
because of his personal interest in music. It was agreed that
representation by the library on the University Arts Committees was
unnecessary.

Senator Conroy noted that Mrs. Jean Laman would represent Fine Arts on
the University Arts Committee.

HANDBOOK COVER

Senator Conroy told the Senate that David Shields has agreed to create
the cover for the new faculty handbook.

ORPS RESEARCH FILE REORGANIZATION

Senator Conroy reminded the Senate that they needed to review the status
of the reorganization of the Research Enhancement Grants file which are
housed at ORPS. ORPS has been overseeing the reorganization process
this summer. RTA'd until next week.

LATE DROPS AND ADDS/DROPS

The Senate has agreed that there is a need to discuss the situation of
the late drop date and the time frame for adds/drops. RTA's until next
week.

NEW FACULTY LUNCHEON

One of the senators noted that they think it might be a good thing to
restructure the seating arrangement at the New Faculty Luncheon held at
the beginning of the fall semester. It was pointed out that it would be
more appropriate for everyone to feel equal and on the same level. This
issue will be referred to the Faculty Advancement Center.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF FACULTY

It was noted that it appeares that the administration has implemented
amendments to the policy on performance evaluation of faculty before the
Senate has signed off on the issue.

MINUTES OF 8-27-97

The Minutes of August 27, 1997 were approved with minor corrections to
the section about the budget update.


The meeting adjourned at 6:20 pm.

Shirley Pilus
CORRECTED & APPROVED FACULTY SENATE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 3, 1997
PLEASE POST
________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Faculty Senate minutes are distributed via e-mail, as soon as
practical after each meeting, to Senators, Liaisons, Senate Committee
Chairs, Departmental Chairs and Secretaries, Deans, the President's
Cabinet, and other members of this academic community who have asked to
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intent is that recipients, particularly departmental secretaries, will
post hard copies on bulletin boards in areas frequented by faculty.

Previous issues of the Senate's minutes may be accessed via the Internet
at http://www.txstate.edu/facultysenate/index.html [NOTE: WEB SITE!]

Questions regarding the content of minutes may be addressed to any
Faculty Senator.
_______________________________________________________________________

Present: Bible, Bourgeois, Conroy, Deduck-Evans, Hays, Hunter, Irvin,
McGee, Oliver, Pascoe, Sawey, Stimmel and Winek.

Absent: Bechtol and Simpson

Guests: Oren Renick (Health Admin), Kim Folse (Sociol), Pat Cassidy
(VPAA) and Mike Moore.

CONTENTS:

SENATE SECRETARY
INSURANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
FACULTY RESEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE TO GUIDELINES
ACADEMIC POLICY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS AND CHARGE
NEW BUSINESS
SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATOR HUNTER
PPS 7.10 MERIT AND PROMOTION
MITTE ENDOWED CHAIRS
1996 CUPA FACULTY SALARY SPECIAL STUDY REPORT
UNIVERSITY ARTS COMMITTEE
HANDBOOK COVER
ORSP REORGANIZATION OF RESEARCH FILES
LATE DROP DATE AND ADDS/DROPS
NEW FACULTY LUNCHEON
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF FACULTY
MINUTES OF 8-27-97

The meeting was called to order by Chair Bible at 4:02 pm

SENATE SECRETARY

After being RTA'd for several meetings the issue of the Senate secretary
was discussed. Because there were no volunteers to take the minutes, it
was agreed that the senators would take turns recording them.

INSURANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

Dr. Oren Renick, Chair of the Insurance Committee, reported on the 1996
Patient Satisfaction Survey. Its purpose was to provide SWT employees
with information needed to make an informed decision about their health
care options at enrollment time. A summary of the survey results was
included in the benefits enrollment package sent to SWT employees this
summer. The results were also released to insurers and hospitals to
assist them with their continuous improvement initiatives.

Dr. Renick explained that his committee plans to continue their work on
insurance issues by distributing another survey which would concentrate
on quality of care. They will also address the issues of evaluating the
value and quality of health care services. Senator McGee noted that a
ranking of physicians would be helpful in the selection/enrollment
process. Dr. Renick explained that this would probably not be done but
that results would likely be communicated to appropriate points in the
peer review process - to the physician, hospital or managed care
organization.

Dr. Renick has been asked to discuss his committee's work and findings
at a national conference. He also stated that there were possibilities
for grant funding to look at health care options. Several other Texas
universities have inquired about the survey results.

The Senate accepted the Insurance Committee report and thanked Dr.
Renick and his committee for their diligence and dedicated work.

FACULTY RESEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE TO GUIDELINES

Dr. Kim Folse, Chair of the Research Committee, explained the minor
changes to the new Research Enhancement Grant guidelines which were
essentially changed at a spring meeting of the Senate. The changes will
make the language clearer in respect to stipends, number of pages
allowed, time periods counted, and mandatory reports.

It was noted that seeking external funding is not required by the law
which created the Research Enhancement Grants program but is strongly
encouraged by ORSP. The committee affirmed that the quality of the
proposed research is the important issue. It was noted that the new
guidelines will consider efforts of faculty to seek outside funding as
an element of the review process. Faculty are referred to the REP
Guidelines Section III.B.

Senator McGee asked the Senate if they would regard, as a conflict of
interest, his troubleshooting Liberal Arts proposals before they go to
the LA Research Advisory Committee. The Senate agreed that it would not
be a conflict of interest but should be regarded as a positive effort to
encourage mentoring and that all departments have a right to set up
mentoring activities.

The Senate approved the new guidelines with the amended clarifications
and thanked Dr. Folse and her committee for their efforts.

ACADEMIC POLICY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

The charge for the new Academic Policy Oversight Committee will be as
follows:

Monitors the extent to which chairs, deans, and other administrators are
adhering to applicable PPS's and other rules in conducting university
business and brings concerns to the attention of the Faculty Senate.
The Senate shall determine which issues shall be referred to the
committee for its investigation.

The composition of this committee was discussed and appointments are
pending. The Senate decided that members would serve a 2 year term
since the committee is newly formed. RTA'd until next week.

NEW BUSINESS

REPLACEMENT FOR SENATOR HUNTER

A replacement is needed for Diana Hunter who will soon be taking a
maternity leave for the reminder of the fall semester. RTA'd until next
week.

PPS 7.10 MERIT AND PROMOTION

The administration has proposed certain amendments to PPS 7.10 on merit
and performance raises for faculty (see minutes of 8/27). Last week,
the Senate drafted a memo outlining its objections to some of these pro-
posed changes, and Dr. Bible discussed this at CAD on Tuesday and then
informed the Senate about that discussion.

Currently, PPS 7.10 provides that when money is available for merit and
performance raises, approximately 25% should be allocated to merit and
75% to performance; it also provides that merit awards should be limited
to three to five steps, and that merit raises should be given only if a
performance raise would correlate in a specific way with the annual
inflation rate. The proposed amendments would eliminate the 75/25 ratio
and the three-to-five step limitation and instead regard the amounts to
be awarded in perforance and merit as purely a matter of presidential
prerogative. The Senate objects. It recognizes that these issues are
indeed a matter of presidential prerogative, but believes that the 75/25
ratio and three-to-five limitation are sound from a policy standpoint,
reflect the best accommodation of the competing interests involved, and
should be adhered to by the president in making his determinations.

This issue will appear on the agenda of the September 17 PAAG meeting
with Drs. Supple and Gratz and may also appear on the agenda of the
joint Senate/CAD meeting on Tuesday, October 7.

MITTE ENDOWED CHAIRS

Chair Bible discussed the proposed funding (salaries) for the new Mitte
Endowed chairs. He noted that funding the chairs will not be "free,"
but instead will involve the dedication of vacant faculty line items and
up to $250,000 in Strategic Planning funds. This issue will also be
placed on the PAAG agenda, along with the proposed procedures for hiring
of these 5 endowed chairs. Copies of the proposed funding will be sent
to the senators for study.

1996 CUPA FACULTY SALARY SPECIAL REPORT

Chair Bible has received a copy of the 1996 CUPA Faculty Salary Special
Study Report. The report is available at the Faculty Senate Office.
Interested faculty should refer to this publication for more details.

UNIVERSITY ARTS COMMITTEE

The Senate has decided to not replace a member of the library staff who
has left SWT and who had served on the University Arts Committee. That
person has asked to be appointed the the University Arts Committee
because of his personal interest in music. It was agreed that
representation by the library on the University Arts Committees was
unnecessary.

Senator Conroy noted that Mrs. Jean Laman would represent Fine Arts on
the University Arts Committee.

HANDBOOK COVER

Senator Conroy told the Senate that David Shields has agreed to create
the cover for the new faculty handbook.

ORPS RESEARCH FILE REORGANIZATION

Senator Conroy reminded the Senate that they needed to review the status
of the reorganization of the Research Enhancement Grants file which are
housed at ORPS. ORPS has been overseeing the reorganization process
this summer. RTA'd until next week.

LATE DROPS AND ADDS/DROPS

The Senate has agreed that there is a need to discuss the situation of
the late drop date and the time frame for adds/drops. RTA's until next
week.

NEW FACULTY LUNCHEON

One of the senators noted that they think it might be a good thing to
restructure the seating arrangement at the New Faculty Luncheon held at
the beginning of the fall semester. It was pointed out that it would be
more appropriate for everyone to feel equal and on the same level. This
issue will be referred to the Faculty Advancement Center.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF FACULTY

It was noted that it appeares that the administration has implemented
amendments to the policy on performance evaluation of faculty before the
Senate has signed off on the issue.

MINUTES OF 8-27-97

The Minutes of August 27, 1997 were approved with minor corrections to
the section about the budget update.


The meeting adjourned at 6:20 pm.

Shirley Pilus
Administrative Assistant

Administrative Assistant